Los Gatos Creek Trails

The Los Gatos hills are a fabulous place to run, with various trails that twist and turn upwards. I find I can't run the whole distance the way I could in the past, ie: when S lived here the first time, in the 1990s. It is quite pleasant, though, to run for ten minutes and then walk for five, repeatedly. Unlike SOME people, I like it that I encounter others who are exercising at the same time. Most people, all ages, many with dogs, are quite friendly.
This sign greeted me near the top. I read it carefully and wondered what I would do if I indeed DID happen upon a mountain lion. Part of me would be very excited to see an actual mountain lion in the wild. I both hoped I would and hoped I wouldn't. I thought about the fact that if I got bitten by a rattlesnake, someone would probably help me find aid pretty quickly and it would only strike at me once. But I wondered how I would hold up to a mountain lion. I turned around timidly and started on a lower trail, but then encountered six women walking together and asked THEM what they thought? They said they had been walking the trail for years and never seen any signs of one. Encouraged, I headed back and took the original trail, looking overhead most of the way, expecting to see one on a branch, the way I had seen a jaguar in Costa Rica.

Later at home, B told me he rides his bike there all the time and HAD seen a mountain lion there this month! He said it really freaked him out as it was mid-day and there were other people around. Hmmm. I haven't decided if I will return to that spot by myself yet or not.
It's difficult to indicate the altitude in the hills. It's quite precipitous in many places and I refrain from looking over the edge.
The manzanita trees are spectacular. Ohhh, I just LOVE them!
There are canopies and twists and turns all along the way. The trails are more heavily used than the ones we use at Acadia, but c'mon: this is November and the temperature is still hitting eighty most days! I'm liking it.